Behavioural traits related with resilience or vulnerability to the development of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference after exposure of female mice to vicarious social defeat.

Exposure to stress induced by intermittent repeated social defeat (IRSD) increases vulnerability to the development of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference (CPP) among male mice; however, some defeated mice are resilient to these effects of stress. In the present study we evaluated the effects of vicarious IRSD (VIRSD) in female mice and explored behavioural traits that are potentially predictive of resilience. C57BL/6 female mice (n = 28) were exposed to VIRSD, which consisted of the animals witnessing a short experience of social defeat by a male mouse on postnatal day (PND) 47, 50, 53 and 56. The control group (n = 10) was not exposed to stress. Blood samples were collected on PND 47 and 56 for corticosterone and interleukin-6 determinations. On PND 57-58, female mice performed several behavioural tests (elevated plus maze, hole-board, object recognition, social interaction, TST and splash tests). Three weeks later, the effects of cocaine (1.5 mg/kg) on the CPP paradigm were assessed. VIRSD decreased corticosterone levels (on PND 56), increased interleukin-6 levels, enhanced novelty-seeking, improved recognition memory and induced anxiety- and depression-like symptoms. Control and VIRSD female mice did not acquire CPP, although some stressed individuals with certain behavioural traits - including a high novelty-seeking profile or the development of depression-like behaviour in the splash test shortly after VIRSD - acquired cocaine CPP. Our results confirm that some behavioural traits of female mice are associated with vulnerability or resilience to the long-term effects of social stress on cocaine reward, as previously observed in males.

The ANTI-Vea-UGR Platform: A Free Online Resource to Measure Attentional Networks (Alertness, Orienting, and Executive Control) Functioning and Executive/Arousal Vigilance.

The Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance-executive and arousal components (ANTI-Vea) is a computerized task of 32 min duration in the standard format. The task simultaneously assesses the main effects and interactions of the three attentional networks (i.e., phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control) and two dissociated components of vigilance with reasonable reliability (executive and arousal vigilance). We present this free and publicly accessible resource (ANTI-Vea-UGR; https://anti-vea.ugr.es/) developed to easily run, collect, and analyze data with the ANTI-Vea (or its subtasks measuring some attentional and/or vigilance components embedded in the ANTI-Vea). Available in six different languages, the platform allows for the adaptation of stimulus timing and procedure to facilitate data collection from different populations (e.g., clinical patients, children). Collected data can be freely downloaded and easily analyzed with the provided scripts and tools, including a Shiny app. We discuss previous evidence supporting that attention and vigilance components can be assessed in typical lab conditions as well as online and outside the laboratory. We hope this tutorial will help researchers interested in measuring attention and vigilance with a tool useful to collect data from large sample sizes and easy to use in applied contexts.

Resilience to the short- and long-term behavioral effects of intermittent repeated social defeat in adolescent male mice.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to intermittent repeated social defeat (IRSD) increases the sensitivity of mice to the rewarding effects of cocaine in the conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm. Some animals are resilient to this effect of IRSD, though research exploring this inconsistency in adolescent mice is scarce. Thus, our aim was to characterize the behavioral profile of mice exposed to IRSD during early adolescence and to explore a potential association with resilience to the short- and long-term effects of IRSD. METHODS: Thirty-six male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to IRSD during early adolescence (PND 27, 30, 33 and 36), while another 10 male mice did not undergo stress (controls). Defeated mice and controls then carried out the following battery of behavioral tests; the Elevated Plus Maze, Hole-Board and Social Interaction Test on PND 37, and the Tail Suspension and Splash tests on PND 38. Three weeks later, all the mice were submitted to the CPP paradigm with a low dose of cocaine (1.5 mg/kg). RESULTS: IRSD during early adolescence induced depressive-like behavior in the Social Interaction and Splash tests and increased the rewarding effects of cocaine. Mice with low levels of submissive behavior during episodes of defeat were resilient to the short- and long-term effects of IRSD. In addition, resilience to the short-term effects of IRSD on social interaction and grooming behavior predicted resilience to the long-term effects of IRSD on cocaine reward. CONCLUSION: Our findings help to characterize the nature of resilience to the effects of social stress during adolescence.

Grief in children's story books. A systematic integrative review.

BACKGROUND: Grieving is an adaptive process in the face of the death of somebody close. Children grieve the loss of a family member or friend and need support from their caregivers and the professionals who care for them during this process. Failure to talk to children about the death of a family member or friend can lead to prolonged grief. Children's story books are one of the resources available for providing this type of support. OBJECTIVE: To provide the nursing professional with information on story books aimed at children from 7 to 11 years of age as a tool to help them understand and cope with grief. DESIGN: A systematic integrative review was conducted. METHODS: A search was performed in the ISBN database of the Ministry of Culture and the University Libraries Network. Data extraction was performed by two coders using a protocol registered in PROSPERO. RESULTS: Fifty-six books met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-five percent of the deceased characters were grandparents and 30.4% died due to illness. The most frequent emotion was sadness, (43.3%) and the most repeated coping strategy was remembering the deceased person, (28.7%). The grieving process was depicted in 32.1% of the selected stories. CONCLUSION: The children's books reviewed support understanding and coping with grief. However, some limitations were detected, and therefore it is advisable to accompany the child while reading these books to discuss aspects that have not been addressed.

Resilience to the effects of social stress on vulnerability to developing drug addiction.

We review the still scarce but growing literature on resilience to the effects of social stress on the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse. We define the concept of resilience and how it is applied to the field of drug addiction research. We also describe the internal and external protective factors associated with resilience, such as individual behavioral traits and social support. We then explain the physiological response to stress and how it is modulated by resilience factors. In the subsequent section, we describe the animal models commonly used in the study of resilience to social stress, and we focus on the effects of chronic social defeat (SD), a kind of stress induced by repeated experience of defeat in an agonistic encounter, on different animal behaviors (depression- and anxiety-like behavior, cognitive impairment and addiction-like symptoms). We then summarize the current knowledge on the neurobiological substrates of resilience derived from studies of resilience to the effects of chronic SD stress on depression- and anxiety-related behaviors in rodents. Finally, we focus on the limited studies carried out to explore resilience to the effects of SD stress on the rewarding properties of drugs of abuse, describing the current state of knowledge and suggesting future research directions.

Behavioral Traits Associated With Resilience to the Effects of Repeated Social Defeat on Cocaine-Induced Conditioned Place Preference in Mice.

The relationship between stress and drug use is well demonstrated. Stress-induced by repeated social defeat (RSD) enhances the conditioned place preference (CPP) induced by cocaine in mice. The phenomenon of resilience understood as the ability of subjects to overcome the negative effects of stress is the focus of increasing interest. Our aim is to characterize the behavior of resilient animals with respect to the effects of RSD on the CPP induced by cocaine. To this end, 25 male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to stress by RSD during late adolescence, while other 15 male mice did not undergo stress (controls). On the 2 days following the last defeat, all the animals carried out the elevated plus maze (EPM) and Hole Board, Social Interaction, Tail Suspension and Splash tests. Three weeks later, all the animals performed the CPP paradigm with a low dose of cocaine (1 mg/kg). Exposure to RSD decreased all measurements related to the open arms of the EPM. It also reduced social interaction, immobility in the tail suspension test (TST) and grooming in the splash test. RSD exposure also increased the sensitivity of the mice to the rewarding effects of cocaine, since only defeated animals acquired CPP. Several behavioral traits were related to resilience to the potentiating effect of RSD on cocaine CPP. Mice that showed less submission during defeat episodes, a lower percentage of time in the open arms of the EPM, low novelty-seeking, high social interaction, greater immobility in the TST and a higher frequency of grooming were those that were resilient to the long-term effects of social defeat on cocaine reward since they behaved like controls and did not develop CPP. These results suggest that the behavioral profile of resilient defeated mice is characterized by an active coping response during episodes of defeat, a greater concern for potential dangers, less reactivity in a situation of inevitable moderate stress and fewer depressive-like symptoms after stress. Determining the neurobehavioral substrates of resilience is the first step towards developing behavioral or pharmacological interventions that increase resilience in individuals at a high risk of suffering from stress.

Anomalías electrocardiográficas en pacientes añosos internados en el Servicio de Clínica Médica del Hospital Nacional en 2018 / Electrocardiographic abnormalities in elderly patients interned in the Medical Clinic Service of the Hospital Nacional in 2018

Introducción: el electrocardiograma (ECG) es un método diagnóstico muy útil para ciertas patologías cardiacas. Las anomalías en ECG aumentan con la edad. Objetivo: determinar las anormalidades electrocardiográficas en pacientes añosos internados en el Servicio de Clínica Médica del Hospital Nacional. Metodología: se realizó un estudio observacional prospectivo en pacientes >65 años internados entre agosto y octubre 2018 en el Dpto. de Medicina Interna (Hospital Nacional, Paraguay). A todos se les realizó un ECG de 12 canales en reposo y se registraron datos demográficos y clínicos. Resultados: se incluyeron 107 pacientes con edad media 76±8 años, siendo 62 varones y 45 mujeres. La comorbilidad más frecuente fue la hipertensión arterial (73%). En ECG anormal se detectó en 66%. Los hallazgos anormales más frecuentes fueron el hemibloqueo anterior izquierdo (46%), intervalo QTc prolongado (18%), fibrilación auricular (16%) y taquicardia sinusal (16%). No se halló relación estadísticamente significativa entre las comorbilidades y las anormalidades electrocardiográficas citadas. Conclusión: el ECG anormal en pacientes añosos se detectó en 66%.

Introduction: the electrocardiogram (ECG) is a very usefull diagnostic method for certain cardiac pathologies. ECG abnormalities increase with age. Objective: to determine the electrocardiographic abnormalities in elderly patients admitted to the Medical Clinic Service of the NationalHospital. Methodology: a prospective observational study was conducted in patients> 65 years old admitted between August and October 2018 in the Department of Internal Medicine (Hospital Nacional, Paraguay). All patients underwent a 12-channel ECG at rest and demographic and clinical data were recorded. Results: 107 patients were included, with an average age of 76 ± 8 years, 62 men and 45 women. The most frequent comorbidity was arterial hypertension (73%). Abnormal ECG was detected in 66%. The most frequent abnormal findings were left anterior hemiblock (46%), prolonged QTc interval (18%), atrial fibrillation (16%) and sinus tachycardia (16%). No statistically significant relationship was found between the comorbidities and the electrocardiographic abnormalities cited. Conclusion: abnormal ECG in elderly patients was detected in 66%

Chequeo ginecológico en estudiantes de enfermería del segundo, tercer y cuato cursos del Instituto "Dr. Andrés Barbero" del año 2001

Estudio descriptivo explicativo de la situación de las estudiantes de enfermería en términos de conocimiento acerca del chequeo ginecológico. Define los exámenes ginecológicos a los cuales se pueden acceder y los requisitos para realizarlos. Cita factores socioeconómicos culturales que influyen en la consulta ginecológica. Explica sugerencias oportunas para la situación analizada